How the prison system expands the lower class
LeeAnn Witman
Professor Cockeram
English 102-040
6 May 2014
America’s Prisons: The Modern Way to Expand the Lower Class With prison populations growing at an alarming rate and crime rates on the rise, one has to stop and wonder if there will soon be a prison decorating every town or city. America’s prisons have been called the “graduate schools for crime” and with the recidivism rate, one has to agree that this term was not coined flippantly. It stands to reason: Take a group of people, strip them of their possessions and privacy, expose them to constant threats of violence, overcrowd them onto a concrete block as long as a street, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass more intent on getting even with society rather than contributing to it. Take out the word “prison” and replace it with inner city and you have just described the lower class. Could it be that we are treating our prisoners and our lower class the same? In the course of my research, and well known to our legislators, Americans pay a great deal to keep this cycle going at the cost that is far greater to society as a whole. Like most of the government solutions today, they are expensive. What our legislators neglect to inform us of is that it costs approximately eighty-thousand dollars to build one cell. Our legislators depend on the voters wanting a quick fix with little question as to the cost over a long term fix that will take patience and tolerance, yet be beneficial in the long run for society as a whole. They hide the fact that crime is the result of a morally negligent government and people making morally wrong decisions, for which they must be held accountable. The response should be a quick response to such behavior is punishment, which may include restitution, community service, stiff fines or in the case of violent offenders, prison. Let us not fool ourselves into a false sense of safety. Nonviolent and drug offenders are eventually
Professor Cockeram
English 102-040
6 May 2014
America’s Prisons: The Modern Way to Expand the Lower Class With prison populations growing at an alarming rate and crime rates on the rise, one has to stop and wonder if there will soon be a prison decorating every town or city. America’s prisons have been called the “graduate schools for crime” and with the recidivism rate, one has to agree that this term was not coined flippantly. It stands to reason: Take a group of people, strip them of their possessions and privacy, expose them to constant threats of violence, overcrowd them onto a concrete block as long as a street, deprive them of meaningful work, and the result is an embittered underclass more intent on getting even with society rather than contributing to it. Take out the word “prison” and replace it with inner city and you have just described the lower class. Could it be that we are treating our prisoners and our lower class the same? In the course of my research, and well known to our legislators, Americans pay a great deal to keep this cycle going at the cost that is far greater to society as a whole. Like most of the government solutions today, they are expensive. What our legislators neglect to inform us of is that it costs approximately eighty-thousand dollars to build one cell. Our legislators depend on the voters wanting a quick fix with little question as to the cost over a long term fix that will take patience and tolerance, yet be beneficial in the long run for society as a whole. They hide the fact that crime is the result of a morally negligent government and people making morally wrong decisions, for which they must be held accountable. The response should be a quick response to such behavior is punishment, which may include restitution, community service, stiff fines or in the case of violent offenders, prison. Let us not fool ourselves into a false sense of safety. Nonviolent and drug offenders are eventually
Cited: Corrections, Dept of. Pa State Department of Corrections. 2014. digital. 14 April 2014. . Currie, Elliot. Crime and Punnishment in America. New York: Picador, 2013. Print. Ditton, Paula M. and Wilson, Doris James. Truth in Sentencing in State Prisons. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999. Print. Mauer, Marc and King, Ryan S,. The Meaning of "Life": Long Prison Sentences in Context. Prison Statistic Report. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project, 2012. Print. Nellis, Ashley, Ph.D. Life Goes on: The Historic Rise in Life Sentences in America. Prison Statistics. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing Project, 2013. Print. Race of Death Row Inmates Executed Since 1976. Yearly Report. Washington, D.C.: Death Penalty Information Center, 2013. Digital. 18 January 2014. Wright, Kai. "Boxed In." Nation (2013): 20-26. digital. 30 April 2014.